1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component mounting apparatus that mounts electronic components after paste has been supplied to a substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hitherto practiced method for mounting electronic components on a substrate by use of a paste-like adhesive (hereinafter abbreviated as a “paste”) includes supplying a substrate with paste at a position that is closer to a conveyance start side than to a position where electronic components are actually mounted on the substrate along a direction of conveyance of the substrate and conveying the substrate supplied with the paste to the mounting position (see Patent Document 1).    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2001-15533
Silver paste, which is produced by mixing an adhesive resin and a silver filler into a solvent, is frequently used as related-art paste. However, an amount of solvent is relatively decreased by a recent increase in silver filler content intended for enhancing heat radiation. For this reason, the related-art paste supplying method has a potential of a solvent evaporating before a substrate arrives at a mounting position, which in turn raises a concern about deterioration of mounting quality caused by use of dry paste. An effective solution of the problem is to alternately provide a supply of paste and mount electronic components, thereby preventing occurrence of a time difference between the supplying operation and the mounting operation. However, when a plurality of electronic components are handled, extremely much time is required. In a production environment where paste containing a low proportion of silver filler is also used, further deterioration of productivity occurs, so that the solution is not rational.